Department of Industrial Psychology

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Browsing Department of Industrial Psychology by Author "Anderson, Ryan"

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    Influence of integrity and servant leadership on trust in leaders and ethical culture
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Anderson, Ryan; Engelbrecht, Amos S.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Industrial Psychology.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : This study stems from the need to address unethical behaviour in the workplace. Servant leadership emerged as a tool to address this issue, through the development of an ethical culture. The role of Integrity in Servant Leaders, as well as the effect that trust in leaders have on implementing ethical culture, emerged as important components of this relationship. Thus, the focus of the research is directed towards determining the role of servant leadership in creating an ethical culture in organisations. To achieve this, the concepts of integrity, servant leadership, trust in leaders and ethical culture were investigated. Literature obtained from a theoretical review of the proposed variables, lead to the conceptualization of the determinants and structural relationships that exist between the concepts. A theoretical model was subsequently developed to explain this, followed by the formulation of substantive hypotheses to empirically determine the validity of the predictions in the literature review. For the research design, the study followed a quantitative approach, whereby the hypothesised causal relationships between the latent variables were tested by means of an ex post facto correlational design and structural equation modelling (SEM), which was used as an analysis technique. The research objective of this study was to test the proposed ethical culture structural model, with the research focus on business leaders and subordinates’ perceptions of the qualities of these leaders. The Ethical Integrity Test (EIT), Servant Leadership Behavioural Scale (SLBS), Leader Trust Scale (LTS) and Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ) were utilised to gather the relevant data from the population. The respective questionnaires were sent to participants via electronic mail invitations. A convenient probability sample of 279 individuals within varied industries was selected. From an analysis of the results, significant positive relationships were confirmed between Integrity and Trust in Leader, Integrity and Servant Leadership, Servant Leadership and Trust in Leader, Servant Leadership and Ethical Culture, as well as between Trust in Leader and Ethical Culture. The study makes inroads into further developing the understanding between ethics and leadership. The positive relationships found between the studied variables have widespread implications for organisational managers in their pursuit of addressing business ethics, and it provides direction for future research on servant leadership and ethics.